Whalen pulls out of Lethbridge mayoral race, backing Hyggen

LETHBRIDGE — One of six candidates running for mayor of Lethbridge has pulled out of the race and will seek a city council position instead.

Lethbridge restaurant owner Brad Whalen said he is also throwing his support behind mayoral candidate Blaine Hyggen, since there are strong similarities in their platforms.

“I decided rather than run against Blaine, I would endorse him,” said Whalen.

“The progress that he wants to see is the same progress that I want to see.”

Whalen was the first candidate to officially file his nomination papers for mayor back in March. The four others vying for the top job are Sheldon Day Chief, Gary Klassen, Kolton Menzak and Stephen Mogdan.

Whalen said he made a decision to withdraw from the mayoral race after having a few discussions with Hyggen and realizing their campaigns were closely aligned.

“I really liked the direction he’s going, and he’s got a great deal of support, and now he has my support as well," he said.

Whalen added he would rather run for a council position and work on the same team, than run against Hyggen and have only one of them be successful.

“It was never about me being mayor and being in that position,” said Whalen. “It was about being part of a team and building a team that can make the city move in the right direction.”

Whalen said his goals are still to support small businesses and build a progressive city that is ready to expand.

Whalen was planning to retract his mayoral bid and officially file nomination papers for councillor on Tuesday.

That will leave five candidates for mayor, and increase the number of nominees seeking a councillor position to 12. The municipal election in Lethbridge is set for Oct. 18.